February was
a big month for Matty Collector and the
Masters of the Universe Classics line. With the release of Trap Jaw and
Battle Cat, the line saw two of the coolest additions since He-man and
Skeletor. But there was a third MOTUC item available, one that slipped
under some folks radar - Castle Grayskull display stands.

These
small, stone-like stands came 5 to a box for $12 each. They proved
popular (in no small part to the large number of figures already
released - if you wanted to cover the whole series you needed to pick
up at least four boxes, plus a box or two more for the future
releases), selling out in a day.

Battle Cat and Trap Jaw sold
out quickly as well, and Matty was almost as quick to let folks know
they'd be re-released down the road. However, no such announcement has
come yet with the stands, angering fans once again. Many are asking the
question "what's the point of releasing a standardized display stand
for the figures if you can't pick up more in the future as more figures
are released?" And it's a question worth asking.

Of course, all
that only matters if the stands are good - if they blow chunks like a
frat boy on Saturday night, then there's no issue. So let's check them
out!

Packaging - **1/2
The basic white boxes do what their supposed to do - get the stands to
you in one piece. That's about it.

The outside has the most basic
of logo graphics, along with black text telling you what's inside.

The
five stands and small 'backers' are packaged in separate baggies, with
another baggie for the pegs and insertion tool. They've also included a
small instruction sheet, although this is one time you'll probably be
able to figure it out for yourself.

Sculpting - ***1/2
In this section I'm only talking about the actual sculpt, shape and
size of the bases. How they assemble and how the pegs work will be
discussed later in the Design/Quality section.

The
rocky base and small extra wall look terrific, and fit in quite nicely
with older He-man castle designs. The sculpting is sharp and well
defined, and the size, while a little small, is at least reasonable.
The base is about 4 by 4, and the small stacked stone wall is 2" tall
by 3" wide.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint work does a nice job complimenting the realistic appearance
of the sculpted stone. There is variation both in color and coverage,
with higher points lighter than the deeper, 'dirtier' areas.

The
top of the rock wall has a bit of green added in, giving it a slightly
mossy appearance as well. Overall, the paint work is in line with the
rest of the series, and again, these can fit in nicely with other
castle-like diorama pieces.

Design/Quality - **
The
design and quality of the peg system does hurt the overall value of the
stand, however. Still, since the pegs aren't necessary (I stopped using
them almost immediately), whether this has a major effect on your
opinion of the stands may vary.

There are ten small posts
included, and one 'tool' to insert them into the base. The base itself
has seven holes - one for the small rock wall to attach, and the other
six to be used as you see fit with the feet of the figure.

The
fit on both the bottom of the foot and on the stand is quite tight, but
the posts aren't solid pieces. Instead, they are split so that they can
have a tighter ongoing fit. However, this is a big negative for me. The
smaller split end that's intended to go in the foot (or the bottom of
the rock base) is very easy to damage, rendering any extra tightness
that you could get from this design moot. I would have much preferred
solid pegs like we've seen with other stands from companies such as DC
Direct.

As I said, I stopped using the
pegs, since there was no
real need. The small wall can stand upright just fine on it's own, and
rather than being forced to use the one peg hole that's designed for it
(it's the one on the third stone up on the far left in the photo with
He-Man holding it upright), you can simply place the walls wherever
you'd like. Likewise, the MOTUC figures stand great on their own, so
unless you're planning on putting them in some sort of gravity defying
pose (perhaps a one legged kicking stance), there's little need to use
the posts.

Fun Factor - ***
I'm not sure 'fun' is the right word to describe it, but they are a
nice add for those of you that like dioramas. Kid's are going to want
something a bit grander, like a true Castle Grayskull, to have true fun.

Value - **
Five stands cost $12, making them $2.40 each. That's about .50 - .75
too high to me, especially considering the basic re-use of all the
parts. It makes no sense to me that they aren't continuing these, since
now that the mold is produced and the fixed costs most likely covered
easily with this initial run, they could be a clear cash cow from here
on out.

Things to Watch Out For -
The
small pegs are pretty easy to damage, especially the one you use to
hold the backer stone in place. Personally, I'd just skip using the
pegs altogether, unless you want to put the figure in a gravity
defying pose.

Overall - ***
I'm not thrilled with the design of the small posts, and I tossed them
in a baggy almost immediately. But the overall appearance of the bases
is great, far superior to the dull, boring non-diorama stands we've
gotten for Star Wars, DCUC or JLU figures in the past.

If
you missed out on these, don't go nuts and spend a ton of money on
ebay. They're nice sculpts and add a diorama look to the display, but
they aren't worth bankrupting the farm. Hopefully Mattel will realize
that making these is like printing money, and will get them back on the
docket soon.

Where to Buy -
These were available at Matty Collector in February, and sold out
fairly quickly. But unlike Trap Jaw and Battle Cat, there's been no
announcement of a further release. You'd think it would be a no
brainer, but that might be the problem...

So your main option right now,
sadly, is ebay.
Remember, these only cost $12 for 5 stands originally, and they are
just small plastic stands, after all - don't go nuts.